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Sixth annual Edward Rudolf Lecture: The Archbishop of York launches our first Good Childhood report

We are delighted to announce that the keynote speaker at our sixth annual Edward Rudolf Lecture is the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu.

Long an outspoken advocate for young people in the UK, and one of our presidents, the Archbishop will help launch the first of our annual Good Childhood reports.

The launch of our groundbreaking report

Based on the views of over 30,000 children and young people, this report will present compelling evidence on the factors that affect the well-being of our nation’s children and young people.

This groundbreaking report will be launched at the sixth annual Edward Rudolf Lecture, held at Church House in Westminster on Thursday 12 January 2012 from 5.30pm. This will be a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the factors that impact on our children’s well-being.

Please join us

Last night in Westminster, the Archbishop of York delivered the keynote speech at this year's Edward Rudolf Lecture. The speech focused on children's well-being and on the importance of listening to children's voices, stable families and communities, and financial equality.

The Archbishop said: 'What primary school children and teenagers tell us about their lives is that what is most important to them are the relationships which surround and nurture them. What they tell us is that material prosperity is not the most important thing in their lives. It is love.'

The report (full text, summary) identified the keys to children's happiness and revealed that at any moment half a million children across the UK are unhappy with their lives. More than 30,000 children aged eight to 16 contributed to the report.

Family matters

The Archbishop said: 'Time and time again as I read this report I see the huge importance of the family as a place where relationships of love are nurtured and supported. Families in conflict, families that do not offer stability are places where relationships get strained and the nation’s children suffer the effects.'

The Archbishop made clear that he and the Church of England strongly support marriage. He also said: 'We must not pretend that the institution of marriage and the nuclear family provide an automatic ticket to the well-being of children.'

The Archbishop said: 'What really matters is the nature of the relationships that children experience. It is these relationships which ensure their well-being – or otherwise. People who are not married are just as capable of being loving and nurturing as anyone else.'

(Alternatively, each part of the Archbishop's speech may be downloaded. To do so, right-click on each link above, select 'Save link as. . .' then select a location on your computer to save each file. The files are in mp3 format.)